Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images
I WANT EVERYONE FIRED RIGHT NOW. JUST MAIL THEM THEIR CLOTHES.
One of the best pieces of advice I received when becoming a sportswriter was this:
Write when you are angry.
That advice is the reason I am the one writing this piece.
The New England Patriots, thanks to their win over the Arizona Cardinals last Monday night, were back in playoff position heading into Week 15. And with just under a minute remaining Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, it looked like they were going to finish their two-game West Coast swing with a pair of victories, improving to 8-6 on the season, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Then, suddenly, they had lost.
Thanks to the single dumbest play you will see this season.
The Patriots gave up the game-tying touchdown with under a minute remaining, when Raiders quarterback Derek Carr connected with Keelan Cole on a 30-yard touchdown. The play was reviewed, and while it did seem like Cole stepped on the sideline before completing the catch, it was upheld as a touchdown.
Fine. 24-24 with 32 seconds left. New England still had a timeout, so maybe they could make something happen.
They sure made something happen.
After a few plays, including a completion, and a run from Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots faced a 3rd and 10 at their own 45-yard line, with just ten seconds left. Quarterback Mac Jones stood in the shotgun, and handed off to Stevenson on a delay. With the Raiders anticipating a deeper throw downfield, Stevenson found plenty of running room as he worked across midfield, and into Las Vegas territory.
But with the clock reading zeros, either he reached the end zone, or this game was going to overtime.
Or, so you would think:
Apparently there was a third option, which was to TURN THIS PLAY INTO THE STANFORD-CAL LATERAL ENDING DESPITE A TIED SCORE AND OVERTIME STILL AN OPTION. Stevenson laterals to Jakobi Meyers, and the former college quarterback heard all the swelling trumpets and training montages in his head, because he thought a throw across the field back to Jones was the way to secure the W.
He connected with Jones all right.
Raiders pass rusher Chandler Jones. Who caught the ball on the fly, stiff-armed Mac Jones through the turf and into the shadow realm, and then raced into the end zone for the stunning, shocking, phenomenally absurd game-winning touchdown.
As a football fan, this is incredible.
As a Patriots fan, I want to know who thought this was a good idea, and then I want that individual manning a radar tower in Alaska. Just mail them their clothes.
